Taking mummy to Hatton Country World in Warwick

I knew full-well that my 4 month old daughter was probably too young to appreciate it. However, she was sort of more the excuse than the reason to visit.

You see, I absolutely love farms. But it seems socially unacceptable to visit them as a lone adult in your late twenties.

I was overjoyed when I finally had a baby because it meant I could do all the things I’m technically too old to enjoy. I’m also dying to have a pet goat (because goats are so cool). So visiting goats in a farm was pretty much the ideal way to spend my morning.

I took my gran with me to keep up the facade of a little family visit. She kept up the act dutifully – despite the fact I was running ahead of her and the pram like an over-excited toddler hyped up on sugar.

Spring is definitely a great time to visit Hatton Country World

I walked into the barn and nearly melted into a puddle on the floor. Think little lambs, perky piglets and gorgeous goats.

Being so hip and cool, I had made sure we were the first visitors as the gates opened. This meant I could literally run around with my animal feed (bless the lady for selling it to me without raised eyebrows) and meet all of the residents before any children got in my way. If you’ve never hand-fed farm animals before, you’re missing out. Desperate, slime-covered lips are brilliant.

I managed to disguise my feeding excitement by pretending to attract the animals so my daughter could see them. Unfortunately for me, she was more interested in staring at her great grandmother’s face. The first delighted smile she cracked was when we walked outside and she saw a tree.

Not to worry though, mummy’s delighted smile was more than enough!

I would happily live with the guinea pigs forever

There is an actual community of guinea pigs (the guinea pig village) on the farm.

They have houses and social lives and probably quite respectable jobs. I’m used to seeing terrified little creatures sprinting away from all human voyeurs in Pets at Home, so was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the guinea pigs were pretty chilled out. They’re totes not bothered by the visitors.

If I moved in with them, I could cuddle up and sleep most of the day. The rest of the time, I’d climb out of the enclosure and go visit all my friends – the lambs, piglets and little baby goats. It sounds weird, but it would totally work for me.

Did the little one enjoy it?

I thought the ear-splitting baaaa of the sheep would give her a heart attack. Not in the slightest. She was totally un-phased by the sounds, sights and smells of the farm.

Besides great grandmothers and trees, she found joy in watching older children in the indoor play area where we stopped off for coffee (and baby milk). It is literally huge. And I find it very unfair again that it’s unacceptable for adults to play. When she’s old enough, I’ll be sending her in to pretend to run away from me so I have to follow her. Yes, I’ve thought about this already.

So I guess you could say she enjoyed it almost as much as mummy. When she’s older, there are tonnes more activities that she’ll be able to partake in. Perhaps then we’ll be on even ground.
Have you ever been to Hatton Country World with older children? Is there anywhere you lose your inner cool mum? Let me know in the comments below!

19 Comments

hayleyrd

April 12, 2017 / 9:10 am

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who gets excited about going to the farm and feeding the animals – as soon as I had my oldest we were straight off to go and see the animals – I love the pictures, especially the guinea pigs!

This looks like a great place to visit, my toddlers would love to visit here as they loved the goats when we went to a farm lately. I love having children as I totally use them as an excuse to go to fun places x

Hi there, my name is Lucy and I live with my husband and baby daughter in the Midlands. Muffin top mummy is where I share all my sensible thoughts on the joys of parenting and the celebration of love-handles.
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